Category: News

The DCR 2021 Partnership Matching Funds program, provides vital matching funds for projects that improve or enhance the Commonwealth’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-awards-over-960000-to-support-local-state-park-improvement-projects BOSTON — The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $960,305 in funding to 34 projects proposed by municipalities, non-profit organizations, and other entities as part of the 2021 Partnerships Matching Funds Program. The program, administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), provides vital matching funds for projects that improve or enhance the Commonwealth’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. “By partnering with the private sector, we can leverage state funds with private dollars to invest in a first-class state parks system in Massachusetts for generations to come,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “The funding provided to these projects through the Partnerships Matching Funds Program will enhance the natural beauty, ecological health, and outdoor recreational opportunities of state parks throughout the Commonwealth.” “Through close partnerships with park advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, individuals, and municipal leaders, our Administration is able to make significant investments in our parks system,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We...

Jennifer Frank | Next City | March 15, 2021 https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/medical-providers-are-taking-nature-therapy-seriously Schools were closed and online learning was in full swing last March when a teenager and her mom arrived at Fair Haven Community Health Care in New Haven. The girl had been experiencing chest pains and her worried mother thought she should go to the emergency room, recalled Amanda E. DeCew, a Fair Haven clinic director and pediatric nurse. The girl “was spending her entire day inside and had been inside for like two weeks,” DeCew said. “But the more we got into her symptoms, the more I really felt like this was anxiety and nothing that she needed to go the emergency room for.” But DeCew also knew that some kind of medical intervention was needed. “I’m going to write a park prescription for you,” she told the girl. “Just try this for today.” In a follow-up call the next day, the teenager told DeCew she felt much better. “Her symptoms went away,” DeCew said,...

City selects firms to lead long-term environmental action initiative Tanisha Bhat | The Daily Free Press | February 22, 2021 https://dailyfreepress.com/2021/02/22/city-selects-firms-to-lead-long-term-environmental-action-initiative/ Mayor Marty Walsh announced the two firms selected to head Boston’s first Urban Forest Plan — a 20-year project focused on protecting the city’s trees, addressing climate change and improving the overall lives of Boston residents — Wednesday. The Urban Forest Plan is a joint effort designed to address the growing threat of climate change in the city and its disproportionate effects on local communities, according to a Wednesday press release by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Boston landscape architecture firm Stoss Landscape Urbanism and Kentucky-based forestry consultant Urban Canopy Works were selected by the City to head the plan, the press release stated. The planning phase is expected to start this spring and will be completed in about a year. During this time, the project will be open for public feedback in the fall. The Urban Forest Plan includes a community advisory group and...

State lawmakers should make open space a real policy priority Letter to the Editor | The Boston Globe | March 13, 2021 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/13/opinion/fort-point-plan-gives-boston-another-shot-true-destination-waterfront/ Massachusetts Conservation Voters, a statewide advocacy group for public open space, applauds Shirley Leung’s call for abundant public parkland in conjunction with any future Fort Point Channel development. The state Legislature can act now to protect existing public parkland. Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution guides municipalities and developers in the process of converting public parkland to another use. That process, spelled out in a policy directive overseen by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, needs a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for final approval. But before the vote, proponents must prove that a better alternative to taking a park does not exist and be able to replace the land taken with property of at least equal size and ecological value. Because the requirements are set out in policy, not law, some proponents have tried to bypass the policy before...

Shirley Leung | The Boston Globe | March 6, 2021 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/06/business/city-boston-has-shot-developing-fort-point-channel-neighborhood-into-waterfront-all-can-it/ Boston has a chance to turn the Fort Point Channel neighborhood into the waterfront the Seaport District has failed to become. Can the city deliver, or will we see, yet again, more broken promises? The stakes are higher now as the opportunity to create public space — think expansive green parks and basketball courts — dwindle as more of the South Boston waterfront gets developed. The Boston Planning & Development Agency — charged with overseeing the design of the district — is mindful of not repeating the mistakes of the Seaport, a corporate enclave with scant diversity and pocket parks. The Seaport may have emerged as a magnet for some the country’s most innovative companies, from Amazon to Vertex, but that is not what makes Boston special. It is the creation of shared spaces, beautiful and humanizing, from the Esplanade to the Public Garden, the Emerald Necklace to the Rose Kennedy Greenway, that...

DCR Announces Family-Friendly Self-Guided Opportunities for February School Vacation Week Press Release | February 10, 2021 https://www.mass.gov/news/dcr-announces-family-friendly-self-guided-opportunities-for-february-school-vacation-week BOSTON — Today, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) announced that it will offer family-friendly Trip-Tips, self-guided adventures and suggested hikes for approximately 20 state park facilities during the traditional February school vacation week. Programming can be enjoyed at any time starting on Saturday, February 13, 2021. DCR Trip-Tips provide children and their families with self-guided activity ideas to lead their exploration of a local state park or watershed. The Trip-Tips include activities like winter birding, wildlife observation. history tours, and scavenger hunts. For a full list of Trip-Tips, visit DCR’s website. “This winter, DCR is thrilled to offer school vacation Trip-Tips encouraging children and their families to enjoy the fresh air and experience self-guided opportunities in their local state park,” said Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Jim Montgomery. “The Baker-Polito Administration continues to increase both access within our state parks system and opportunities for the public to enjoy the many recreational resources available to them.” In addition to the school vacation week programming, DCR is offering public skating at Kelly Outdoor Rink...

CSO Bill Passes the Senate, Now off to the Governor! Massachusetts Rivers Alliance | January 8, 2021 https://www.massriversalliance.org/post/cso-bill-passes-the-senate-now-off-to-the-governor Fantastic news! The sewage notification bill (H.4921) is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature! After moving out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee last night, the bill was passed by the Senate, and enacted by both chambers. After years of advocating for this bill, we are thrilled! This bill, once signed into law, will establish a public notification system to alert Massachusetts residents when there is a sewage spill in their area. The purpose is to protect people from swimming, fishing, boating, or taking their pets into rivers when there is sewage present - a serious health risk. In communities that still have combined sewer overflow systems, rain mixes in with sewage in the same pipes during heavy rainfall. When the pipes reach capacity, they overflow the excess sewage-rain mix into nearby water bodies, posing health risks to residents who may unknowingly interact...

Editor | The Berkshire Eagle | January 1, 2020 https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/get-out-really-first-week-hikes-encouraged-at-state-parks/article_a3db9d82-4ab5-11eb-ba33-5782499ef55d.html The Baker-Polito administration is offering residents and visitors a chance to explore outdoors through the state Department of Conservation and Recreation's First Week Hikes program in celebration of the new year. “Taking a stroll in your local park for First Week Hikes is a great way to kick-off the new year, build tradition, and discover the stunning natural and recreational resources that Massachusetts has to offer,” DCR Commissioner Jim Montgomery said in a release. “For the 30th year, the state parks system has provided hiking opportunities on January 1st, and while this year may look a little different, DCR still encourages people to get outdoors safely.” The DCR has implemented a few changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The one-day tradition now will last a week, in order to prevent crowds from forming. In addition, to encourage social distancing, self-guided adventures have been introduced.  To read the full article, please click here....

Matt Berg | The Boston Globe | December 31, 2020 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/31/metro/looking-get-some-fresh-air-new-year-state-park-officials-announce-first-week-hikes/ After months of being cooped up due to the pandemic, people deserve more than one head-clearing Near Year's hike, state officials say. To read the full Boston Globe story, click here. To read the Mass. DCR Press Release, click here....